Christmas Warmth
by Okadiah
Summary: Following the FT Christmas Special, Jellal escorts Erza home on the snowy Christmas Eve, and while he's there he helps bring life back to Erza's frozen limbs. She decides that maybe, just for the night, she could help bring a bit of life and Christmas warmth to Jellal's heart, and the unspoken thing they have between them.


**Christmas Warmth**

The tipsy buzz that had blanketed Erza Scarlet's mind and kept her numb to the cold was, much to her disappointment, wearing off and by the time she and Jellal finally made it to her apartment, her shivers had turned into great quakes of her body, no matter how tightly her companion held her. Jellal's coat had been a great asset to the Queen of the Fairies, but it wasn't long enough to protect her long legs, or to keep her feet from freezing from where they'd sank, unprotected, in the snow. And that wasn't taking into account the cold drafts of wind that slipped up from under the bottom edge of his coat to replace what little warmth had gathered there at her lower regions. She was cold, and she was feeling it, and all she could think about right now was warming up and seeing for herself if she'd developed frostbite on her toes.

Jellal had suggested she don her armor, but she'd lost the game and was planning on stubbornly sticking to her punishment. It was only fair.

"Where are your keys, Erza?"

Erza blinked at Jellal as he looked at her pointedly, in a manner that made her wonder if he was suffering the cold too, given that the blue haired man had given her his coat in a bid for warmth and modesty, protection from the wrath of winter and any prying eyes. His shoulders were trembling slightly. Was she causing him to suffer? It might not have been as much as she was, but she deserved this for drinking and playing the Guild Master Game so aggressively. Now Jellal was paying a price for her foolishness as well.

Even more so, given that she just realized that in her drunken stupor to obey Gray's command, she'd left not only her clothing behind, but also her keys.

"You forgot them, didn't you?"

Erza pouted and looked away in embarrassment, especially when she saw Jellal's knowing smile and heard his soft chuckle. She half thought of pulling away from the firm and warm arm wrapped around her body, but he only squeezed his hold in good humor to stop her, as if he knew.

"I might have known. Do you have a spare key hidden?"

"No," she admitted. "Usually if I lose my keys, I go talk to the landlady and she's kind enough to let me in and make a spare while I'm at it. But she's out of town for the holidays visiting her son in the north." Erza sighed. She could just force the door open with brute strength. The wood was flimsy enough for her to do it without much effort at all, but she didn't want to break the door. Not only would a broken door let the cold in and the heat out, but she didn't want to damage the property of her kind old landlady. Perhaps she'd left a window unlocked?

Her attention abruptly returned to her when she saw a small spell being cast, and she watched as a small circle of magic encircled the keyhole of the door before she heard the sound of the bolt unlocking. The spell complete, Jellal simply reached forward with his free hand and opened the door as if it had never been locked at all.

"That's a nifty spell," she commented dryly and he just gave her a one-sided grin. It didn't surprise her that he would know a sophisticated lock-picking spell like that, given his history as a criminal, then as an anti-hero vagabond with Crime Sorcière.

Warmth surged around her immediately, mixing with the cold as he helped her inside. Instantly she felt her bare feet burn as they encountered the soft fabric of the carpet. Given how her feet were feeling, the carpet felt anything but soft. More like sand paper perhaps. Then again, it might just be her imagination, because she wasn't entirely sure she could feel anything but painful cold past her ankles. She didn't pay too much attention to that though, since once they'd entered, Jellal had shut the door to keep winter out and lead her to her sofa where he eased her down.

"Thank you," she said, tightening the coat around her naked body while pulling her legs up so that she could wrap her fingers over her toes in hopes of bringing back some feeling, other than the insistent icy-burn.

"My pleasure," he replied with a smirk. "Now stay here. I'm going to run you a bath."

She nodded, then watched with interest as Jellal successfully navigated a path to her room as if he'd been to her apartment before, which was all the more interesting given that as far as she knew, he hadn't. But she supposed that didn't surprise her, for the same reason the lock didn't. This was Jellal. It was more than likely that he'd been keeping tabs on her in secret. If something like this had happened to Lucy, Erza knew that she'd have pitched a fit, and caused property damage while she was at it, but to the Queen of the Fairies, the truth was that since it was Jellal, it was almost sweet.

It would have been sweeter if he'd been around while she was though. She'd have been happy to give him a tour. Among other things, not that she thought that he'd stay. But hell, a woman could dream on occasion, couldn't she?

Distantly she heard the sound of water filling the bath, and instead focused on her numb toes, turning on a lamp to see them for herself. They were blue, it was true, but they weren't turning grey or white with frostbite and though she couldn't feel them, her toes still felt soft, not like frozen meat. That had to be a good thing.

"Let me see them."

Erza leaned back against the cushion of the sofa and watched as Jellal took an offered foot as he sat down beside her. His fingers burned more than her own had given that they were warmer by far, apparently, but she put up with it as he angled one foot this way and that, inspecting each toe carefully, before moving onto the other foot. Distantly, she wished she could feel his touch as more than just a hot, cold induced burn.

"Well, it looks like you've avoided frostbite, if only barely," he breathed before standing and placing her icy feet gently on the couch. She watched as he now strode towards the kitchen and, after a moment where he seemed to once again suspiciously know his way around that area too, returned with a large bowl half filled with water before placing it on the ground in front of her.

"Here. Put your feet in this while the bath fills," he said softly in that familiar voice that made her heart tighten in a pleasant, if bittersweet, way. "It's better to gradually warm cold extremities instead of overwhelming them with heat. Hopefully they'll be better by the time the bath is ready."

She knew that, actually. You didn't work with an ice mage for as long as she did without picking up on a bit of cold-injury first aid along the way. There had been more than a few times when Lucy, or herself, or several of the other guild members had had to handle the cold due to Gray's foolishness. But she didn't say anything as she let Jellal gently take her frozen feet and guide them into the lukewarm water. Erza hissed on contact, even though she wasn't surprised that even that temperature felt like a nonstop icy-hot burn, but she endured it because he was right. If she wanted the true bliss of a hot bath, the revival of her feet had to happen first.

That didn't stop her from blinking in surprise when his fingers remained in the water and began carefully massaging her icy feet, encouraging circulation and warm blood flow to reestablish itself in her near-frozen appendages.

"You know, when you agreed to this, you could have at least argued for the use of your boots," Jellal murmured as he focused intently on his work, his hands careful and firm, even though they still shot needle-like sensations all the way up her legs from her abused feet.

"The thought didn't occur to me. It was the last thing on my mind," she admitted honestly as she watched him, eyes resting on the shift of blue hair on the top of his head. Erza couldn't help but smile as she saw that the lovely mass spiraled right. It was a little detail, one she'd noticed when she was a child, but it had been something the passage of time had forced from her mind. What a small thing to notice. What a small thing to appreciate. Sometimes, she realized, that was all she cared about when it came to Jellal. The little details. The things that no one noticed about him. The things that she always noticed about him. "I was just ready to go home."

"You're lucky I was around. What would have happened if it had been someone else? You might have been apprehended for public indecency. Or worse."

"All the sane people are at home in bed this time of night, asleep and warm on Christmas Eve. I wasn't really worried or thinking about that," she admitted to him before looking at him curiously. "Why were you out?"

Jellal chuckled dryly, and she could make out the edges of that smirk he liked to use so much. "As you correctly noted, I'm insane. I was just out for a walk. Everyone else is out at the bar or on mission."

"So it's just you right now?" she couldn't stop herself from asking gently.

"For now," he agreed without elaborating, and she didn't ask him to expand further. She knew that he didn't want her to know or get involved unnecessarily with the mysterious, and sometimes dubious, actions of his guild. So she was willing to let it go.

Instead, silence lapsed between them as he continued to bring life back to her feet before moving up to her ankles, and her calves where the wind had gotten the best of them. Goosebumps still rose like thousands of tiny little peaks across her skin, but Jellal worked to reduce their number significantly. Or at least the ones caused by the cold. Shedidn't take into account the number that rose again due to _him_. Soon though, he was taking a towel to her legs and feet, drying them off gently, his hands moving slowly higher and higher up her legs to catch droplets of water he'd left in his wake.

It wasn't long before his hands moved high up her thigh, the water clinging there with the towel in slow, steady movements. Jellal was so caught up in what he was doing that he didn't realize that Erza was watching him intently. There was so much care and concentration there, in his eyes as he took care of her. She couldn't remember when the last time someone had taken such good care of her like this. Such … intimate care.

Or maybe she could. Maybe it had been when they were children, still trapped at the tower so long ago, before Zerek, when they were both still so young and innocent.

She blinked when she felt his fingers lightly stroke her soft skin, his eyes clearly dim with thought before he suddenly blinked as if realizing just what it was he was doing. It had been a soothing stroke, gentle and warm, but it was gone as he gently placed the towel in her hands so that she could finish.

"I'm going to check on the bathwater. I'm sure it's almost done," Jellal abruptly said, rising to his feet in a move that already had him stepping away in the direction of her bath. She couldn't help it as she smiled a small, knowing smile as she watched him go. It had gotten too intimate for him, and he'd retreated once more, retreated from her, and from himself and his own desires. Erza sighed, a bittersweet smile still edging her lips as she finished drying her legs off with the towel, while trying not to think too deeply about how she'd much preferred Jellal's care to her own.

Regardless, his efforts had worked and her feet now felt tender, but alive and filled with blood. Closer to normal than half-frozen fleshy bits. Even now as she tentatively stood, she could feel the carpet much better than when she'd first come in, even if her body still felt a bit chilled at the bone. That bath was sounding amazing to her right now. It would be perfect to fight off the last bit of winter that still clung to her body like an aura.

Confident that she could walk on her own now that she could feel her feet again, she made her way to the bathroom just in time to watch Jellal turn off the faucet and plunge the small bathroom into silence. He straightened up as he looked at her, his thoughts and emotions hidden once again before he said, "It's ready. The temperature should be right, but you might want to check, just in case."

"I'm sure it's fine." Erza watched steam lift from a bubbly surface in the deep tub, as if summoning her. "Thank you, Jellal."

"You're welcome, Erza," he replied with a warmth that seeped out into the edges of his eyes, softening them slightly with that kindness and care she knew he spent so much time trying to hide. The moment between them seemed frozen, stuck as they simply looked at each other, caught, before Jellal seemed to come back to himself and looked away. "I should be going. I'll see you later, Erza. Don't drink yourself into a situation like this next time. I might not be around to take care of you."

She frowned as she clutched the front of the coat, _his_ coat, tighter against her chest. She didn't want him to leave, not yet. Erza wasn't sure where he was staying, but she suspected that it was a distance away, hidden and probably not somewhere he wanted to be. He should warm up first, or wait until she could give him back his coat. He was trying to hold it back, but she could still see his shoulders trembling from the cold despite being inside. He could stay for the sake of warming up, or for a cup of tea or coffee, at least.

Or just stay, simply for the sake of staying, and staying with her.

Suddenly she just wanted to be close to him, and it was selfish, and she knew it, but Erza just … she just wanted this small moment to last. It had been so long since she'd last seen Jellal, and she didn't know when the next time might be. It might be asking too much of him, but she felt that she had to try, even if it might turn out fruitless. At least she'd have tried. Unfortunately the only idea she had in her mind was a bold one.

But who was she, but Erza Scarlet. Bold was practically a part of her character description.

"Come into the bath with me. I know you're cold as well. We could warm up together," Erza said with a small smile, eyes warm even as she saw the surprise, and then the internal struggle play across his eyes, and face. He even blushed a little, which was one of her favorite things about him. One of the most powerful mages in the world was at heart so modest, and such a gentleman. The rest of the world saw serious looks and controlled smirks, a cool man always in control. But with her, it was different. This was the side of Jellal that she knew she should consider herself among the lucky few allowed to see. She wondered if even Meredy saw this side of him so easily.

When she saw his emotions settle, and a rueful smile line his lips as he looked away from her in clear self-denial, she wasn't surprised. Nor was she surprised when she heard him say, "No. I think that it's better that I didn't. I should be going."

Erza shook her head and chuckled at him, eyes still warm because that was just so Jellal. She wasn't surprised at all by his words. This was just … just Jellal. Always so self-punishing in the hopes that one day he might be redeemed. It was true that there were many things that Jellal was guilty of, but in her opinion he took on _too much_ guilt, as if that was what he deserved. But it was Christmas, and suddenly all she wanted right now was for him to let go, if only this once. It was the holiday season, and everyone could be forgiven, if for a small time.

Perhaps she could even get him to forgive himself, for that short time.

"Why?" she teased playfully, a pointed smile on her lips. "You just saw me naked not half an hour ago. Don't tell me you're bashful."

"That's not it Erza. You know that."

The teasing edge to her smile faded because he was right. She did know. But that wasn't going to stop her. So instead, she dropped the teasing, and simply allowed fate and Jellal to make their decision in a situation where all she could do was set up and facilitate.

So, after a long, quiet moment, she said in a gentle voice, "Come here, Jellal."

It wasn't an order, but a simple request, softly spoken and willing to allow him to leave if he _truly_ wanted that. She hoped he didn't. Erza hoped that this tortured man would see the request for what it really was … and that he'd allow himself this.

And she watched with a growing sense of warmth as, after a moment, he slowly moved towards her, eyes slightly troubled and weary. She gave him a soft smile in reward as, when he was finally standing before her only a foot, she reached up to grasp the nearest tail of his scarf … and slowly began to unwind it from around his neck. Though she could tell that he was uncertain about this and what it was she was planning, he didn't stop her, and when the scarf came free, she tossed it out the door of the bathroom.

Then she rested her hands on the bottom edge of his dark shirt, her cool fingers slipping under the heavy fabric to rest on the warmth of his skin, his toned muscles beneath tensing at the softest caress. She didn't look him the eyes, but she could feel his warm breath across her cheeks as she lingered like this for a moment, waiting for him to do something. Waiting for her to do something. After what felt like an age, she finally made up her mind and gently grasped the edge of his shirt and began to lift it in clear intent.

Almost immediately his hands clamped down on her wrists, stopping her movements, and she let the shirt slip from her fingers as that tight grip caused her to shift closer. The grip wasn't hard or painful, but it was firm and telling, and she felt his fingers give the slightest of trembles. His head dropped lower to hers in a clear bid to prevent whatever it was that she was trying to do.

"Erza –"

 _No._

In a quick tilt of her head, Erza silenced him by gently pressing her lips against his in a short kiss.

It wasn't a long kiss, or a passionate one. It was short and gentle and innocent, a pressing of the lips, but it got her point across very well in her opinion. His brown eyes were wide in surprise at the abruptness of her action, and she took advantage of the hard won silence to pull her hands from his and gently thread her fingers into the soft locks of his blue hair to take his face between her hands, making sure she had his attention. She suspected that she'd have had his attention either way, but this felt right.

"Jellal," she sighed with gentle patience. "It's Christmas Eve. The holidays. This is the time when you're supposed to be with the people who care about you most." It was clear that he was still struck silent from her bold move, but she knew that he was listening, even as she saw the doubt in his eyes. "Allow yourself a moment of reprieve, Jellal, a moment of kindness to yourself."

"I don't know if I can, Erza. I don't deserve it. I don't deserve this." At some point Jellal's warm hands had fallen to lightly rest on her waist. They were warm and firm and _there._ She found she liked them there. She'd always suspected she would. His fingers tightened, whether he realized it or not, and she knew how hard it was for him. But he could allow himself to have this. He _could_. Perhaps this was selfish of her, but he _could_.

So she smiled at him again before gently urging his head forward so that she could press her forehead against his as she closed her eyes. The warmth in her heart swelled like a wave within her and she wished that Jellal could feel it. She wished that he could _know_ what this warmth was, and that it was for him, and them, and the things that they might never have together, the things she hoped that they might _one day_. But that was not her type of magic, and neither was it his. But that was alright. She was Erza Scarlet. She'd find a way to show him.

"If you can't do it for yourself, do it for me," she breathed, noting the comforting scent of his hair. "I want to be around a person I care about most, this Christmas Eve." _The most_ , she quietly whispered in her mind, though she knew he wasn't ready to hear anything like that, even if she suspected he knew all the same. "I promise, I won't do anything to you that you don't want."

"I feel as if _I_ should be the one to say that," he responded with the softest of sighs as his forehead pressed against hers more firmly in submission, and she peaked an eye open to see that his eyes had also fallen shut too, his blue lashes fanning against the uppermost part of his cheeks. She chuckled at him before letting her hands slip from the sides of his cheeks down to his neck to linger there for a moment as they just breathed together. It was a moment to be savored, an intimate closeness so simple and so gentle that she wished it could go on and on and on. After all, it was one of those rare occasions when it was just _them_. Not Titania, Queen of the Fairies, or Jellal Fernandes, leader of Crime Sorcière. It was just Erza and Jellal within this moment, within this space.

And though she knew it couldn't last forever, she wanted to make it last as long as she could. She hoped that Jellal wanted the same.

Pressure from the hands at her waist urged her back a little, breaking the spell woven between them and the silence, and she couldn't help the disappointment that edged her heart and mind. But she opened her eyes anyway to see what Jellal's decision was, trying not to get her hopes up. Their eyes met and she resolved to accept whatever he decided, because she knew that this might be asking too much of him.

But she hoped it wasn't, and she didn't really try to hide it from her brown gaze.

He looked at her for a long, long moment, his hands still warm and firm on her waist before he slowly closed his eyes and sighed … before nodding in acquiesce.

"Alright."

A great smile bloomed on her lips, an honest and happy one that he saw and rolled his eyes at, even as that smirk edged his lips again.

"You act as if I've given you the key to a fully stocked armory."

"You could do that too," she said with a smirk. "Now come on. It's cold and the bath is nice and warm. And it will be warmer when we're both in it." Erza said that last bit as a pointed and helpful hint, and he shook his head at her as he reached for the bottom of his shirt.

"Well, when you put it that way."

Anticipation made Erza's cheeks heat a little as she tried not to outwardly and shamelessly ogle the reveal and movement of Jellal's pale skin and muscular physique as he undressed. She didn't want to scare him off by being overly eager before he'd settled into the situation, so instead she busied herself with preparing the room, and gathering another set of towels. Erza closed the bathroom door so that heat in the room wouldn't escape, after she'd delved into her closet to find a pair of bathrobes she had. The spare was old, but it had always been big on her. Perhaps he might be able to use it?

As she did all of this, she heard the rustle and fall of heavy clothing dropping to the bathroom floor before the sound of water accepting a body filled her ears, and it was all she could do not to stick her head into the doorway to openly watch Jellal enter the bath. Instead, she discretely waited until he was settled and she'd heard the softest of pleased sighs before returning, shutting the door, and placing the towels and robes near the bath.

"I'm turning the light off, but I was thinking of lighting some candles?"

Jellal was submerged half-way up his chest where a thick layer of bubbles rose up to his shoulders, his arms resting along the edges of the bath. He looked at her in thought, a small blush on his cheeks, from her or the heat, she couldn't tell, before he shook his head.

"How about this, instead of the candles. Turn off the lights."

Erza did as he requested curiously, plunging them into darkness for a moment, before a spell appeared in the air above them, lighting the air for an instant. As it faded however, small and soft starlight sparks seemed to come and fade into existence in the air around them, like white fireflies drifting aimlessly across her bathroom, making it _just_ bright enough to make out the blue of his hair or the scarlet of hers. Obscured, but intimate.

It was enchanting. She couldn't help but smile as she took it all in, before looking at Jellal who had a pleased smirk on his lips.

"You really know how to treat a girl."

He chuckled softly at her before giving her a pointed look. "I thought you said it's cold."

That she did, and with a flare of butterflies and anticipation, she turned her back to him and began pulling both the santa hat and his coat off of her body, leaving her skin snow pale and bare. She looked over her exposed shoulder as she crossed her arms over her breast to see if he was watching, and she nearly laughed when she saw that his eyes were resolutely focused on the moon that hung in the distance outside her window, casting moonlit shadows where the starlight fireflies didn't. She smiled and shook her head instead as she turned and gently padded towards the bath and Jellal. This silly man, not taking a clear opportunity to look at a naked and beautiful woman. Lesser men would have fallen to temptation for an opportunity such as this, but Jellal? Not him. He was a chivalrous gentleman through and through, when given the opportunity to prove it.

It was clear though, that he was struggling valiantly. His eyes kept shifting just a little more to the right, to her, before he refocused on the moon again. Perhaps he wasn't as chivalrous as she thought? Perhaps she could bring the rogue out in him?

Now wouldn't that be something?

"Erza?"

She ignored him as she stepped into the hot water, her feet on fire though not as badly as they'd been when he'd been reviving them in the bowl, and began to fold herself down into the utterly _blissful_ water before shifting back so that her back rested against his chest. He startled. It was clear to her that he'd been expecting her to take the other side of the bath, so that they'd be facing each other, but in a situation like this, the last thing _she_ wanted was distance. Not to mention, she was incredibly curious as to if he'd stripped all the way before entering, and given the way his skin pressed boldly up against hers hot and in a long, uninterrupted expanse from his chest all the way to his thighs, she got her answer.

Especially when she felt a certain something stiffen at the small of her back as he all but choked at her boldness, clenching his jaw as if that might help keep him quiet. She smirked at him as she reached up to gather her long hair to twist it into a knot, before leaning back against his shoulder.

"Something wrong, Jellal?"

The withering, knowing look he gave her only made her chuckle, and she resisted the urge to arch against him teasingly, test his limits. But she'd promised that she wouldn't do anything that he didn't want her to. But that also meant that he had to actually _tell_ her what he didn't want too. As tempting as that was though, she'd play fair. For now.

Warm hands gripped her shoulders, and for a moment, she wondered if he _would_ push her away, and the way they tightened there almost made her certain. But … slowly they relaxed again, she felt him sigh behind her before he instead crossed them over her chest and held her tight against him, his arms strong bars keeping her in place as he instead curled forward to press his head into her shoulder, bringing his knees up around her legs, boxing her in.

"You shouldn't do this to me, Erza. It's going to be hard to let you go."

A blush spread hard across Erza's cheeks, but she smiled as she curled up a little into his embrace, and clung to his arms under the thick foam of obscuring and floral smelling bubbles.

"Then don't let me go. Hold on as long as you like."

He hummed, whether in agreement or despair she didn't know, still burying his nose in her deep red hair at the crux of her neck. That vibration slipped through her back and seemed to reverberate within her body in pleasing and intense waves. The pleasure pooled low at her core, not fiery hot and burning, but a slow smolder that warmed her from the inside out, as opposed to the warmth of the water and Jellal's body behind her that took care of the rest. They stayed like that for a long, long while.

It was nice, being held so carefully by Jellal, in such an intimate moment. With the steam rising around them, both cuddled close together with nothing but water and bubbles between them in the twilight cast by Jellal's twinkling spell and the moonlight, she felt happy and content. For now, it could be just them. For now, the rest of the world outside of her small apartment didn't matter. It was Christmas Eve, and she was with the one person she wanted most to spend it with. This year, if she got nothing in the way of gifts on Christmas morning, she'd have no qualms. As far as she was concerned _this_ was her gift.

And she accepted it gladly, with no intention of returning it or trading it or regifting.

The sound of water dripping caught Erza's attention as Jellal began to move, reaching for a washcloth and some liquid soap nearby on the stand. Erza smiled as she watched him work with the soap until the cloth was layered in cleansing foam.

"Are you going to wash me, Jellal?"

"I thought it was your desire that I stay and bathe with you?" was his smooth response, and she looked over her shoulder to see a smirk settled on his lips, his eyes warm and heated as they looked at her. He must have finally accepted the situation, allowing himself this and she couldn't help feeling even a little relief. "Would you rather I not?"

Now it was Erza's turn to smirk, and she merely shifted forward, pulling from his grasp, to rest her arms on her knees. She was also very aware that that shift had pushed her hips back against his pelvis, and that smoldering sensation within her body grew when she felt him twitch and harden a little more at her lower back.

As _if_ she'd rather he not.

"There's a spot on my back that I can never seem to reach on my own." She knew her look was sultry, but with Jellal like this, who was she to care? "Perhaps you could get it for me?"

His eyes burned low as that smirk of his turned sensual.

"As the Queen of the Fairies wishes."

That washcloth, commanded by the talented hand of Jellal, was almost her undoing as he gently and carefully began to scrub and stroke her skin, massaging her back and her shoulders and any tense muscles he encountered. On more than a few occasions, those talented fingers had pressed into her so well and so carefully that she'd groaned in satisfaction and pleasure. Muscles she'd never realized were tense before were undoing themselves for the man behind her and she was more than happy to let them. Soon he had her pulled back against him and was using those magic hands to massage the muscles below her collar bones. For a brief moment she hoped that he'd slip those wonderful hands lower to palm her needy breasts, but he instead passed them up to stroke along her sides and over her stomach, his finger tips light and teasing, arousing her.

"You know," she finally said, a little embarrassed by the deeper tone her voice had taken, but just aroused enough not to care. "I can think of a few places you haven't cleaned yet."

"Oh?" he questioned as he dropped a warm kiss on her slick shoulder, lingering there for a moment, and she nuzzled his hair with her nose.

"Oh yes. Would you like me to show you the spots?"

"I think I know them. They're quite pert right now, as a matter of fact. They're kind of hard to miss, poking out of the water like that."

Surprised, she followed his darkened gaze to see that her nipples _were_ exposed above the surface of the water, peaks crowned with the tiniest bits of bubble. It made her blush to see them like this, but at the same time, it thrilled her that Jellal could see this, see _her_ like this.

She hummed in pleasure as his hands gently slipped over her breasts, catching the buds of her nipples between his fingers to roll them, and she could think of something else that was suddenly becoming very _hard_ to miss as well. Mindlessly her hand lightly slipped down to grasp the juncture of his legs, drawing gentle little circles there in the sensitive mushroomed tip that made him groan softly.

"Seductress."

"Tell me to stop, then."

He didn't, and she gasped as one of his hands dropped from her breast to delve lower to play gently at the crux of her legs. And he called _her_ a seductress. She'd at least promised she wouldn't do anything that _he_ didn't want. Not that she minded this _in the slightest_.

But two could play this game, and she deftly slipped her hand deeper between their bodies to grasp his cock at the base.

Jellal's breath came sharp in her ear, especially when she gave him a few lengthy strokes, and suddenly they were both caught up in the steady build of petting and stroking that seemed to last forever until _finally_ they were both left shivering in release together. His hand suddenly appeared at her chin, wet and pruned, before turning it so that he could press his lips against hers in a long, deep, tender kiss that she returned fully.

She washed him, after that, eyes warm and steady on his as she worked, taking a moment here and there whenever she felt like it to lay kisses on his body and on his lips. This is what she wanted. This was _all_ she wanted, this closeness and intimacy with him.

The bath was soon just barely warm though, and the bubbles had long sense faded away. She smiled at him as she kissed him again. At some point during the bath she'd turned to face him, straddling his legs, and she couldn't help the indulgent grind that made them both moan into each others mouths. Unfortunately, the openness of her mouth also triggered a yawn and she pulled away embarrassed as Jellal chuckled at her, running a wet hand through a bit of her dry hair.

"Tired, Erza?"

"Never," she lied. "The bath's getting cold though."

"So it is."

Neither of them moved as they continued to look and touch each other, not until a great shiver traveled up the length of Erza's back, to which Jellal laughed and began shifting so that he could pull her up as he stood as well. Neither of them could stop themselves from watching the water cascade off of the other's body, finally getting a shadowy glimpse of what the bubbles and darkness and water had jealously guarded. After a moment, Jellal's eyes caught hers as his thumbs lightly stroked the sensitive skin of her arms.

"You're beautiful, Erza."

The truth and honesty that filled his voice floored her, and mindlessly she reached up to thread her fingers in the moist strands of his hair at the base of neck, keeping him close.

"Jellal."

He smiled at her, hands slipping down her arms until he gently held her hand and pulled her out of the water before reaching for a towel. She took it from him, mechanically beginning to dry herself off as she watched him do the same, admiring the way the shadows and light played off his shining skin, highlighting his profile tantalizingly and making her heart swell.

She loved this man. Despite everything, there's no one she wanted with her right now more than him.

Quietly she took the offered bathrobe and loosely tied it around her body before reaching around him to take the second and place it on his muscular shoulders, guiding his arms through the sleeves before drawing it loosely closed and tying the sash about his waist, letting her hands linger there. His spell was still enchanting the air and as the lights drifted in and out of existence, she watched his face, his eyes, the tattoo on his face, and just felt so much warmth fill her, so much gentle, caring warmth. Once again, she selfishly didn't want this moment to end.

"Stay," Erza requested quietly as she stood close to him, gently taking his hands. "Just for a night, Jellal. It's the middle of the night, and I don't want you to catch a cold. It wouldn't have to be anything more than sleep."

His eyes were warm on her, knowing in a way that only he could know, as if he saw through her concern to the heart of her reasoning. A hand pulled free from hers so that it could rest at her neck again, and he gave her the gentlest, warmest smile, one that told her that he understood.

"And if I wanted it to be more than sleep?" he asked after a deep moment of silence, and suddenly the pleasure in her blood grew warm again, her body yearning. Wanting _him_. She soon found herself stepping even closer into his space, pressing her robed body against his own. Erza smirked as she gazed into his brown eyes with her own before answering very honestly.

"You wouldn't be the only one."

He chuckled at her before drawing her forward into a kiss.

"You always get your way."

She smiled against is lips, pleased as she took his hand and pulled him towards the bedroom and towards her bed. "Of course. I'm Queen of the Fairies. I always get my way."

"You aren't wrong," he said with a smirk before he slipped his hands from her grasp, and instead used them to urge her robe off of her shoulders where it piled at her elbows, exposing her breasts to his gaze. Her nipples pebbled at the heat in his eyes, heat for her, and she shifted forward so that she could shamelessly rub them against his exposed chest as she also tugged his robe free.

"Bed?" she questioned pointedly with a raise of a red eyebrow and he smiled as he took her shoulders in his hands and kissed her again. Immediately her eyelids fluttered shut as she met those gently questing lips with her own for a long moment before she wrapped an arm around him and pulled him on top of her as they fell back on the mattress.

Dewy morning light slipped through the drapes of Erza's window, and she groaned in displeasure at it for having woken her up. Instinctually, she wrapped her arm around the warmth of a firm torso and pressed her nose against the column of a strong neck, breathing in the familiar scent where it was strongest. Now _that_ was blissful.

"Still not a morning person, Erza?"

"I don't understand how you are, Jellal," she grumbled, her voice sleep heavy and she felt him chuckle against her, his arm slung low across her waist and drawing small patterns slowly into her exposed back. It almost tickled her, but instead it was incredibly relaxing.

"Years of discipline in the Magic Council. Megalomaniac tendencies. An urge to redeem myself. You're welcome to choose whichever answer you deem most appropriate."

She hummed as she kept her eyes closed, gently nuzzling his neck with her nose for a moment.

"It's Christmas," she finally said, letting the previous conversation go, and she smiled as she clung to him tighter, hugging him close. Jellal hummed, tightening his arm around her naked body as he pressed his face into her scarlet hair before taking a deep breath and sighing.

"I'm afraid I've no gift to give you."

The softest of snorts pushed through Erza as she smiled into his neck, recalling last night, which according to her clock had only been three hours ago since they'd both collapsed into a satisfied but exhausted sleep, and the languid sex-serviced feel of her muscles on her bones. Mindlessly she slipped her hand up to tangle lightly in his beautiful blue hair to hold him there as she gently pressed kisses into the strong line of his neck. In response, which she was very pleased about, she felt his cock stiffen from its half-erect state in interest from where it was pressed against her hip.

"You're here, and you stayed, Jellal," Erza couldn't help but pointing out the obvious. "That is _more_ than gift enough for me. Is it gift enough for you?"

Erza felt him shake his head against her scarlet hair, but she knew it wasn't a denial, but mild exasperation.

"It's more than I deserve."

She snorted at the so-typical icy Jellal comment, but smiled as she shook her head and pressed her lips to his neck again as the hand in his hair began to drift down the strong line of his back, pleased at the warmth and muscle she found there.

"Let me decide that today," she requested lowly before a sudden idea lit her mind and she pulled away from his neck so that she catch his eyes, which reflected his uncertainty and self-punishing thoughts. Erza smiled, and smiled brightly in the face of them, undaunted and unphased, and completely set on fighting for what she wanted. "Make _that_ your gift to me."

Now it was his turn to snort at her as a wry smile dominated his face, dashing that uncertainty away. He let himself fall to his back as he looked up at her, eyes alight and warm even if his doubts still seemed to linger on the edges. A warm hand trailed itself idly through her long hair as she reached over to lightly trace the muscles of his chest, still smiling brightly at him.

"And if I gave you this gift," he said, his voice low and aroused, which caused her smile to turn a bit sensual, "What would you decide I deserve, today?"

She grinned as the hand on his chest slowly began drifting southward, slipping under the covers low to curl around a now fully-hard cock.

"Perhaps something to do with this?" Erza replied shamelessly as she pumped his cock with her hand a few times, nice and slow, just enough to see the fire light in his eyes. "After that? Breakfast. And after that … well, I'm sure I can think of more things you deserve for Christmas."

Jellal chuckled at her, his eyes slipping closed as he reached down to slide his hand around hers, guiding her into another, even slower rhythm, which she saw he shamelessly enjoyed.

"I'm sure that you could. And I'm sure that you could think of enough to convince me that I might be too worn out to leave, hmm?"

"It's a goal," she admitted with a cheeky grin as she saw him peek a knowing eye at her. The smirk on his lips faded a little though, as his demeanor turned a bit more serious, as it usually did with him.

"You know I can't stay. Not too long."

Her cheeky smile softened into one of understanding, and she nodded to him. "I know." She knew that what they had right now was going to end. Reality still existed outside the haven of her home and the small, if temporary, nest they'd made. Their lives and the natures in which the lead them meant that they weren't likely to have more than this, but though that was the reality of their situation, she couldn't help but hope that maybe there _would_ be a day when their situations would allow for more. She knew that Jellal hoped that too, though he was the pessimistic, self-punishing type. But one day, maybe. Not now, but one day, when he was ready and the world understood a little more. Until then, she was content with their bittersweet relationship. She was content to wait for him.

"Stay as long as you can, then," she said with that knowing smile, the one she knew told him that she understood. Then she looked at him pointedly, her smile turning sensual once more. Until then …. She tightened her grip on him, and he groaned lowly and long in response, his hips involuntarily thrusting up.

"Always getting your way," he groaned as he seemed to relent to her request by surging up and rolling them so that he was on top of her, her hands suddenly held together above her as he began kissing a hot trail down her neck that made her moan and smile. Erza could easily have broken the grip, but she was very content where she was. She moaned again as he rolled his hips against hers, pleasure beating in her blood. "Now tell me, Erza, what else do you think I deserve, right now? I want you to get the most out of your Christmas gift as possible, you know."

Her Christmas gift. Jellal, her Christmas gift. Her head rolled back in a wide smile at just the thought of that.

It might be the best gift she'd ever received.

"Come here," she commanded, her eyes hot and sultry, telling and he smiled as he obeyed, claiming her lips with his, his body moving pointedly against hers in a manner that made her feel like she'd just been ignited.

"Merry Christmas, Jellal," she said warmly with a smile. He pulled away, a little to returned it, eyes just as warm.

"Merry Christmas, Erza."

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello, and thank you so much for reading! It's been a long time since I've read FT, so the truth is that I'm decidedly behind the times and I've no idea what's going on in the series right now. But when I saw the Christmas Special floating around on the web, I was inspired to write this. All of that being said, I apologize for any inconsistencies or ambiguities that might have arisen. If there's anything glaringly wrong, please feel free to let me know, and I will endeavor to correct the mistake. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed the piece!


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